Clock Gater with Test Features and Low Setup Time

ABSTRACT

A clock gater circuit comprises a plurality of transistors having source-drain connections forming a stack between a first node and a supply node. A given logical state on the first node causes a corresponding logical state on an output clock of the clock gater circuit. In one embodiment, a first transistor of the plurality of transistors has a gate coupled to receive an enable input signal. A second transistor is connected in parallel with the first transistor, and has a gate controlled responsive to a test input signal to ensure that the output clock is generated even if the enable input signal is not in an enabled state. In another embodiment, the plurality of transistors comprises a first transistor having a gate controlled responsive to a clock input of the clock gater circuit and a second transistor having a gate controlled responsive to an output of a delay circuit. The delay circuit comprises at least one inverter, wherein an input of the delay circuit is the clock input, and wherein a first inverter of the delay circuit is coupled to receive a test input signal and is configured to force a first logical state on an output of the first inverter responsive to an assertion of the test input signal.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.11/627,646, filed on Jan. 26, 2007.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is related to the field of digital integrated circuitsand, more particularly, to clock gating in integrated circuits.

2. Description of the Related Art

As electronic circuits, and particularly integrated circuits, increasein density, power consumption also increases. Power management circuitryis often implemented in integrated circuits to reduce power consumption.For example, power management circuitry can be used to selectivelyand/or temporarily remove power from a portion or all of an electroniccircuit during times that the portion is inactive. Alternatively or inaddition, power management circuitry can include conditional clockingcircuitry (also known as clock gating circuitry or a clock gater).

Conditional clocking generally includes conditionally generating a clockto a functional circuit dependent on whether or not the functionalcircuit is active. If the circuit is active, the clock is generated(e.g. rising and falling edges are generated providing a high phase anda low phase of the clock signal). If the circuit is inactive, the clockis inhibited (e.g. held in a constant state, high or low, instead oftoggling). Inhibiting the clock during idle times for the functionalcircuit results in power savings since the state of the circuit is heldsteady and thus the circuit experiences minimal switching activity.Typically, an enable input to the conditional clock circuitry controlswhether the clock is generated or inhibited. The clock can also beinhibited even if the functional circuitry is active, in order todecrease power consumption.

The timing constraints on the enable input to the clock gater are oftenchallenging. For example, an AND gate may be used to generate aconditional clock (with one input being the input clock and the otherbeing the enable signal). In this case, the setup time for the enablesignal is relatively short, but the hold time is approximately one halfclock cycle (since the enable signal is required to remain valid, eitherhigh or low, for an entire phase of the input clock along with margin oneach side to ensure glitch-free operation). As another example, an ANDgate with a passgate latch on the enable signal input can be used. Whilethe hold time may be shorter than the single AND gate (e.g.approximately the hold time of the passgate latch), the setup time islengthened since the enable signal must propagate through the passgatelatch prior to the rising edge of the input clock.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a clock gater circuit comprises a plurality oftransistors having source-drain connections forming a stack between afirst node and a supply node. A given logical state on the first nodecauses a corresponding logical state on an output clock of the clockgater circuit. A first transistor of the plurality of transistors has agate coupled to receive an enable input signal. A second transistor isconnected in parallel with the first transistor, and the secondtransistor has a gate controlled responsive to a test input signal toensure that the output clock is generated even if the enable inputsignal is not in an enabled state. An integrated circuit comprising oneor more of the clock gater circuits is also contemplated.

In an embodiment, a clock gater circuit comprises a plurality oftransistors having source-drain connections forming a stack between afirst node and a supply node, wherein a given logical state on the firstnode causes a corresponding logical state on an output clock of theclock gater circuit. The plurality of transistors comprises a firsttransistor having a gate controlled responsive to a clock input of theclock gater circuit and a second transistor having a gate controlledresponsive to an output of a delay circuit. The delay circuit comprisesat least one inverter, wherein an input of the delay circuit is theclock input, and wherein a first inverter of the delay circuit iscoupled to receive a test input signal and is configured to force afirst logical state on an output of the first inverter responsive to anassertion of the test input signal. An integrated circuit comprising oneor more of the clock gater circuits is also contemplated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description makes reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which are now briefly described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an integrated circuitwith clock gaters.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of a clock gater.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of another embodiment of an inverter with atest input signal that is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of another embodiment of a clock gater stackshown in FIG. 2.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of one embodiment of anintegrated circuit 10 is shown. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, theintegrated circuit 10 includes a global clock generation circuit 12, aclock tree 14, and a plurality of subcircuits 16A-16D. The clockgeneration circuit 12 is coupled to receive an external clock (Clk_E)and generate a global clock to the clock tree 14. The clock tree 14 iscoupled to receive the global clock and to provide various local clocks(e.g. various Clk_Out signals to subcircuits 16A-16D, respectively).

A portion of the clock tree 14 is shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, thelast level of the clock tree (closest to the circuits receiving theclocks) is shown. Various local clock gaters (LCKGs) 18A-18D are shown,each generating a respective Clk_Out for a corresponding subcircuit16A-16D. The LCKGs 18A-18D have a global clock input (GClk) that may becoupled to receive a (possibly buffered) global clock being propagatedby the clock tree 14. Each LCKG 18A-18D has an enable input (En) thatmay be generated by the corresponding enable generation logic 20A-20Dshown in FIG. 1. While the enable generation logic 20A-20D is shownwithin the clock tree 14 in FIG. 1, the enable generation logic 20A-20Dmay receive inputs from the subcircuits 16A-16D (not shown in FIG. 1)and/or may be part of the subcircuits 16A-16D. A given subcircuit16A-16D may provide signals for generating an enable for that subcircuitand/or for another subcircuit, in various embodiments.

The LCKGs 18A-18D may generate the output clocks conditionally based onthe enable input. The enable input may be generated by the enablegeneration logic 20A-20D, respectively, observing various activity inthe corresponding subcircuit and/or other subcircuits 16A-16D, based onwhether or not the corresponding subcircuit is to be in use in the nextclock cycle. Some clocks may be unconditional, in some embodiments. Insuch cases, the enable signal may be tied to the asserted state. TheLCKG circuitry is still used in this case to minimize delay differencesbetween the unconditional clocks and the conditional local clocks. Inother embodiments, the LCLK circuit may not be used for unconditionalclocks.

In one embodiment, the enable signal is a logical one if clockgeneration is enabled and is a logical zero if clock generation is notenabled (e.g. the clock is to be “gated”, or “inhibited”). This examplemay be used in some of the figures described below. In otherembodiments, the enable signal may be a logical zero if clock generationis enabled and a logical one if clock generation is not enabled. Theenable signal may be referred to as “asserted” if it is in a stateindicating that clock generation is enabled, and “deasserted” if it isin a state indicating that clock generation is not enabled. Similarly,various test signals may be referred to as asserted if the correspondingtest function is being requested and deasserted if the correspondingtest function is not being requested, where assertion and deassertionmay be signified by either logical state, as desired. As used herein, aclock is “generated” if the clock oscillates in response to the sourceclock and is “not generated” or “inhibited” if the clock is held at asteady level (high or low) even though the source clock is toggling.

Furthermore, each LCKG 18A-18D has a test input (Tst) that may compriseone or more test signals. The Tst input may be used to control the LCKGs18A-18D during testing of the integrated circuit 10. For example, theTst input may be used to force a LCKG 18A-18D to generate a clock on theClk_Out output, and/or to force an LCKG 18A-18D not to generate theclock (e.g. inhibit the clock). Different LCKGs 18A-18D may be forced togenerate while others are forced to inhibit at the same time. Testcontrol logic 22 is shown coupled to the Tst inputs of the LCKGs18A-18D. The test control logic 22 may receive input signals fromexternal to the integrated circuit 10 (e.g. arrow 24) and/or internal tothe integrated circuit 10 (not shown in FIG. 1) to generate the Tstinputs for the LCKGs 18A-18B. For example, the test control logic 22 maybe controlled by a test access port (TAP) such as the one specified inthe Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 1149.1standard, or any other test mechanism.

The ability to force a given clock to be generated (i.e. togglingaccording to the clock input) during testing may simplify the testing ofthe integrated circuit, since the test patterns need not ensure that theenable is asserted if the clock is to be generated for the test. On theother hand, the ability to force a given clock to be inhibited (i.e.holding steady at a given level, which may be high or low as desired)may mitigate di/dt effects on the testing by limiting the switching insubcircuits 16A-16D that are not involved in the test.

The test control logic 22 may provide separate test signals to each LCKG18A-18D, group two or more LCKGs 18A-18D to provide the same testsignals (or logically the same signals, even if the physical wiringdiffers), or a combination of the above.

The clock generation circuit 12 is configured to generate the globalclock from the external clock CLK_E for use by the circuitry illustratedin FIG. 1. The clock generation circuit 12 may include, for example, aphase locked loop (PLL) for locking the phase of the global clock to theexternal clock. The PLL or other clock generation circuitry may multiplyor divide the frequency of the external clock to arrive at the frequencyof the global clock. Any desired clock generation circuitry may be used.

The global clock is provided to the clock tree 14. The clock tree 14buffers the global clock for distribution to the various loads in theintegrated circuit 10 (e.g. the various subcircuits 16A-16D). In someembodiments, the LCKGs 18A-18D may not be the lowest level of the clocktree 14 (e.g. there may be buffering between the Clk_Out outputs of theLCKGs 18A-18D and the various loads in the corresponding subcircuits16A-16D).

The subcircuits 16A-16D may generally provide the functionality that theintegrated circuit 10 is designed to perform. For example, if theintegrated circuit 10 includes a processor, subcircuits may includefetch logic, issue logic, and execution units of various types (e.g.integer, floating point, load/store, etc.). The integrated circuit 10may include various interface circuits (e.g. network interfaces,standard I/O interfaces such as peripheral component interconnect (PCI),HyperTransport™, etc.); and each interface circuit may comprise one ormore subcircuits. The integrated circuit 10 may include caches or cachecontrollers, which may comprise one or more subcircuits, and/or a memorycontroller which may comprise one or more subcircuits. Any functionalitymay be included in various embodiments.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a circuit diagram of one embodiment of the LCKG18A is shown. Other LCKGs 18B-18D may be similar. In FIG. 2, signalsthat are asserted low have the suffix “_L” added to the signal name.Signals without the “_L” suffix may be asserted high. Other embodimentsmay define the signals differently. In the illustrated embodiment, theTst input of the LCKG 18A comprises a TSTON_L signal and a TSTOFFsignal. The TSTON_L signal may be asserted (low, binary zero) to forcethe LCKG 18A to generate the Clk_Out output. The TSTOFF signal may beasserted (high, binary one) to inhibit clock generation. Also shown inFIG. 2 are the GClk and En inputs, and the Clk_Out output clock.

The transistors shown in FIG. 2 may be N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor(NMOS) or P-type MOS (PMOS) transistors, using the standard notation forsuch transistors in which the PMOS transistor has an open circle on itsgate and the NMOS transistor has no open circle on its gate. Thus, inthe illustrated embodiment, the transistors T₁, T₆, T₇, T₈, T₉, T₁₃, andT₁₄ are PMOS transistors and the transistors T₂, T₃, T₄, T₅, T₁₀, T₁₁,and T₁₂ are NMOS transistors.

The GClk input is coupled as an input to a delay circuit 30 thatcomprises inverters. Generally, the delay circuit 30 may comprise one ormore inverters connected in series. The number of inverters is odd, inthis embodiment. For example, three inverters are shown in FIG. 2(inverters 32, 34, and 36). Inverter 34 is shown in greater detail, andis coupled to receive a TSTOFF_L input in addition to its series inputfrom inverter 32. The TSTOFF_L signal is generated by inverter 38, fromthe TSTOFF signal. Additional description of the inverter 36 is providedfurther below. The output of the delay circuit 30 is the GClk_L signalshown in FIG. 2.

A plurality of transistors having source-drain connections forming astack between a node and a supply node provide the clock gating in thisembodiment, based on the state of the enable input signal. In theillustrated embodiment, the transistors T₂, T₃, and T₄ form the stack.In general, the transistors that form the stack include a transistorwith its drain coupled to the node (e.g. T₂ with its drain connected tothe node N₁), and then respective source-drain connections of thetransistors until the last transistor (e.g. T₄) has its source coupledto the supply node. In this embodiment, the supply node is the groundreference. In other embodiments, the supply node may be the power supplynode. Generally, a supply node may be any node that is designed to havea steady voltage during use (although there may be temporary variationsin the voltage, such as ground bounce or power supply droop).

The node N₁ controls the output clock Clk_Out in FIG. 2. That is, agiven logical state on the node N₁ causes a corresponding logical stateon the output clock. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, thenode N₁ is an input to the inverter 40, which drives Clk_Out. Thus, thecomplement of each logical state on the node N₁ is the correspondingstate on Clk_Out. In other embodiments, a non-inverting buffer (e.g. aneven number of inverters) may be used and the same logical state as thenode N₁ may be the corresponding state on Clk_Out.

The source of T₂ is connected to the drain of T₃, which has its sourceconnected to the drain of T₄. Accordingly, the stack (in the absence ofoperation of other transistors that may be connected to nodes of thestack) comprises a series connection. During the clock phase that thestack evaluates (in normal operation), other transistors connected tonodes in the stack may be inactive. For example, in the illustratedembodiment, the T₂ to T₄ stack may evaluate during the high phase of theGClk input. Specifically, T₄ may activate in response to the rising edgeof the GClk input (since the gate of T₄ is connected to the GClk input).For a time period corresponding to the delay of the delay circuit 30,the GClk_L signal output from the delay circuit 30 is also high, beforetransitioning low in response to the rising edge of the GCIk input. Thegate of T₂ is connected to GCLK_L, and thus is active at the time T₄ isactivated. Accordingly, the delay of the delay circuit 30 may create awindow of the high phase of the GCIk clock during which the enablesignal En (connected to the gate of T₃) can affect the output of theLCKG 18A. Specifically, if the En signal is asserted, the transistor T₃activates and the node N₁ may be discharged. The Clk_Out may thustransition high. On the other hand, if the enable input is not asserted,the transistor T₃ is not activated and the node N₁ is not discharged.The node N₁ remains at the high state (and the Clk_Out signal at the lowstate) until the enable is asserted. During the low phase of the GClkinput, the transistor T₁ (having its drain connected to node N₁, sourceconnected to the V_(DD) supply, and gate connected to the GClk input)charges the node N₁, creating the low phase of the Clk_Out signal.

Accordingly, the setup time of the enable input may be controlled by thedelay circuit 30 and the amount of time needed to reliably discharge thenode N₁. Alternatively, the setup time may be based on the edge of theGCIk signal. The hold time may also be determined by the delay, and maybe relatively small as compared to the length of a clock phase.Accordingly, a low setup time and hold time for the enable may beachieved.

To provide the testability feature of ensuring that the Clk_Out isgenerated if the TSTON_L signal is asserted, the transistor T₅ isconnected in parallel with T₃. The gate of T₅ is controlled responsiveto the TSTON_L signal. In this embodiment, the gate of T₅ is connectedto the output of a NOR gate 42. The inputs to the NOR gate 42 are theenable input and the TSTON_L signal. If the enable input is deassertedand the TSTON_L signal is asserted, the output of the NOR gate 42 is alogical one and the transistor T₅ activates, causing the stack todischarge the node N₁ during the window even though the enable is notasserted. If the enable is asserted, the output of the NOR gate 42 is alogical zero and T₅ is not activated. However, in this case, T₃ isactivated and thus the Clk_Out is still generated. Using the NOR gate todeactivate T₅ if T₃ is activated may ensure that test operation isapproximately the same as normal (non-test) operation. That is, one ofT₃ or T₅ may be activated, but not both. If T₃ and T₅ are sized thesame, the test operation (e.g. speed of discharge) may be approximatelythe same as the normal operation. Accordingly, accuracy of “at speed”testing may be provided. In other embodiments, the T₅ may be directlycontrolled by the TSTON signal.

The operation of the stack T₂ to T₄ may also vary a small amount basedon the initial voltage of each internal node of the stack. To providemore consistent operation, a transistor may be connected to eachinternal node. For example, the transistor T₆ connected to the nodebetween T₂ and T₃, and the transistor T₇ connected to the node betweenT₃ and T₄. The gates of T₆-T₇ may be controlled by the GClk input, andmay precharge the nodes during the non-evaluation phase of the GClkinput (e.g. the low phase in this embodiment). The transistors T₆-T₇ maynot be included in other embodiments.

Since the stack T₂ to T₄ operates during a window of the high phase ofthe GClk, the LCKG 18A may include a storage circuit to capture thevalue of the node N₁ and hold the value during the remainder of the highphase outside of the stack evaluation window. The storage circuit inFIG. 2 comprises the inverter 44, cross coupled with an inverter formedfrom transistors T₉ and T₁₀. The transistor T₈ has its gate coupled tothe GClk_L signal and is coupled between the T₉ drain and the powersupply. During the time that the T₂ to T₄ stack evaluates, the GClk_Lsignal is high and the transistor T₈ may disable the pullup of theT₉-T₁₀ inverter. During the remainder of the GClk high phase, the GClk_Lsignal transitions low and T₈ is active, allowing the pullup to retain ahigh state on the node N₁ if that is the state that was captured by theinverter 44. The transistor T₄ (coupled between the source of T₁₀ andground) may be used to prevent the pulldown through T₁₀, if a low stateof the node N₁ was captured, during the low phase of the GClk input(when the transistor T₁ is charging the node N₁).

As mentioned previously, if the TSTOFF input is asserted, the Clk_Out isto be inhibited. In this embodiment, the Clk_Out clock may be held at alow state. Other embodiments may hold the output steady at the highstate. In order to hold Clk_Out at a low state, the node N₁ is held at ahigh state, via the transistor T₁ in the low phase of the GClk input andT₈-T₉ during the high phase. Accordingly, the GClk_L signal is to beheld low, independent of the GClk input. In this embodiment, the GClk_Lsignal is held low via the inverter 34 and the TSTOFF input.

Specifically, the transistors T₁₂ and T₁₃ are connected in an inverterconfiguration, with their gates connected to the output of the inverter32 and their drains connected to the output node of the inverter 34(which is also the input of the inverter 36). The transistors T₁₄ andT₁₁ are also provided, having their gates connected to the TSTOFF_Lsignal. The transistor T₁₄ is in parallel with the transistor T₁₃, andthe transistor T₁₁ is in series with the transistor T₁₂. If the TSTOFFsignal is deasserted (and thus the TSTOFF_L signal is high), thetransistor T₁₄ is inactive and the transistor T₁₁ is active, and thusthe inverter 34 operates as usual in response to the input to theinverter. If the TSTOFF signal is asserted (and thus the TSTOFF_L signalis low), the transistor T₁₁ is inactive and thus blocks the transistorT₁₂ from discharging the output node. The transistor T₁₄ is active ifthe TSTOFF signal is asserted, pulling up the output of the inverter 34(and thus holding the GClk_L signal low).

While the inverter 34 pulls up its output in response to assertion ofthe TSTOFF signal, other embodiments may use an inverter that pulls theoutput low (e.g. the inverter 32 or 36 could be designed in suchfashion, in the embodiment of FIG. 2). In such an embodiment, thetransistor T₁₄ would be placed in series with T₁₃ and the transistor T₁₁would be in parallel with T₁₂. Additionally, the inverter 38 would beeliminated. An example of such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. It isfurther noted that the transistors T₁₃ and T₁₂ may represent seriesstacks of transistors (e.g. to better control the delay of the delaycircuit 30 over wide operating voltages, temperatures, and processconditions). Accordingly, an inverter that also receives the TSTOFFsignal may comprise at least one transistor in parallel with a first oneor more transistors that generate a first state on the output of theinverter and at least one transistor in series with a second one or moretransistors that generate a second state on the output of the inverter.

It is noted that, in other embodiments, the stack T₂ to T₄ may beprovided to conditionally charge the node N₁ (e.g. the stack may be PMOStransistors connected between the node N₁ and the power supply node). Insuch an embodiment, the transistor T₁ would be an NMOS transistor that“precharges” the node N₁ to ground. FIG. 4 is an example of suchembodiment that generates or inhibits the output clock in the high phaseof GClk. Other embodiments may operate during the low phase of GClk,without the inverters on GClk and GClk_L shown in FIG. 4.

It is further noted that, while the illustrated embodiment is anon-inverting LCKG 18A in which the high phase of the GClk correspondsto a high phase of Clk_Out (and vice versa), inverting LCKGs are alsocontemplated. Inverting LCKGs may comprise an additional inverter on theinput of the LCKG (producing the GClk as shown in FIG. 2), or maycomprise an additional inverter on the output, in some embodiments. Itis further noted that additional input buffering may be provided, ifdesired, in some embodiments.

Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It isintended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all suchvariations and modifications.

1. A clock gater circuit comprising: a plurality of transistors havingsource-drain connections forming a stack between a first node and asupply node, wherein a given logical state on the first node causes acorresponding logical state on an output clock of the clock gatercircuit during use, wherein the plurality of transistors comprises afirst transistor having a gate controlled responsive to a clock input ofthe clock gater circuit and a second transistor having a gate controlledresponsive to an output of a delay circuit; and the delay circuitcomprising at least one inverter, wherein an input of the delay circuitis the clock input, and wherein a first inverter of the delay circuit iscoupled to receive a test input signal and is configured to force afirst logical state on an output of the first inverter responsive to anassertion of the test input signal.
 2. The clock gater circuit asrecited in claim 1 wherein the first inverter of the delay circuitcomprises at least a third transistor in parallel with a first one ormore transistors that generate the first logical state on an output ofthe first inverter, and wherein the first inverter further comprises atleast a fourth transistor in series with a second one or moretransistors that generate a second logical state on the output of thefirst inverter, and wherein the third and fourth transistors arecontrolled responsive to the test input signal.
 3. The clock gatercircuit as recited in claim 2 wherein, if the test signal is assertedduring use, the third and fourth transistors force the first logicalstate onto the output of the inverter.
 4. The clock gater circuit asrecited in claim 1 wherein the delay circuit comprises a plurality ofinverters in series, including the first inverter.
 5. The clock gatercircuit as recited in claim 4 wherein a number of the plurality ofinverters is odd.
 6. The clock gater circuit as recited in claim 1further comprising a second plurality of transistors, wherein eachtransistor is connected to a different node in the stack, and whereinthe second plurality of transistors are configured to provided aconsistent initial voltage on each node prior to the stack evaluating.7. The clock gater circuit as recited in claim 1 further comprising astorage circuit coupled to the first node wherein the storage circuit isconfigured to capture a value on the first node.
 8. The clock gatercircuit as recited in claim 7 wherein at least two of the plurality oftransistors have gates controlled responsive to a clock input to theclock gater circuit, wherein the operation of the at least twotransistors creates a window during a first phase of the input clockduring which the enable input can affect the value on the first node,and wherein the storage circuit is configured to retain the value for aremainder of the first phase outside of the window.
 9. A methodcomprising: asserting a test input signal to a clock gater circuit,wherein the clock gater circuit comprises a plurality of transistorshaving source-drain connections forming a stack between a first node anda supply node, wherein a given logical state on the first node causes acorresponding logical state on an output clock of the clock gatercircuit, wherein the plurality of transistors comprises a firsttransistor having a gate controlled responsive to a clock input of theclock gater circuit and a second transistor having a gate controlledresponsive to an output of a delay circuit; and controlling an output ofone of a plurality of logic gates in the delay circuit responsive to theasserting of the test signal, wherein an input of the delay circuit isthe clock input, wherein the controlling comprises forcing a firstlogical state on an output of the one of the plurality of logic gates.10. The method as recited in claim 9 wherein the plurality of logicgates are coupled in series.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10wherein the plurality of logic gates comprise a plurality of inverters,and wherein the one of the plurality of logic gates for which the outputis controlled comprises additional transistors to implement thecontrolling.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11 wherein a number ofthe plurality of inverters is odd.
 13. An integrated circuit comprisinga plurality of subcircuits and a plurality of clock gater circuits,wherein each of the plurality of subcircuits is coupled to receive anoutput clock from at least one of the clock gater circuits, and whereineach of the plurality of clock gater circuits comprises: a plurality oftransistors having source-drain connections forming a stack between afirst node and a supply node, wherein a given logical state on the firstnode causes a corresponding logical state on an output clock of theclock gater circuit during use, wherein the plurality of transistorscomprises a first transistor having a gate controlled responsive to aclock input of the clock gater circuit and a second transistor having agate controlled responsive to an output of a delay circuit; and thedelay circuit comprising a series connection of logic circuits, whereinan input of the delay circuit is the clock input, and wherein a firstlogic circuit of the series connection of logic circuits is coupled toreceive a test input signal and is configured to force a first logicalstate on an output of the first logic circuit responsive to an assertionof the test input signal.
 14. The integrated circuit as recited in claim13 wherein the first logic circuit of the delay circuit comprises atleast a third transistor in parallel with a first one or moretransistors that generate the first logical state on an output of thefirst inverter, and wherein the first inverter further comprises atleast a fourth transistor in series with a second one or moretransistors that generate a second logical state on the output of thefirst inverter, and wherein the third and fourth transistors arecontrolled responsive to the test input signal.
 15. The integratedcircuit as recited in claim 14 wherein, if the test signal is assertedduring use, the third and fourth transistors force the first logicalstate onto the output of the first logic circuit.
 16. The integratedcircuit as recited in claim 13 wherein the series connection of logiccircuits comprises a plurality of inverters in series, including thefirst logic circuit.
 17. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 16wherein a number of the plurality of inverters is odd.
 18. Theintegrated circuit as recited in claim 13 further comprising a secondplurality of transistors, wherein each transistor is connected to adifferent node in the stack, and wherein the second plurality oftransistors are configured to provided a consistent initial voltage oneach node prior to the stack evaluating.
 19. The integrated circuit asrecited in claim 13 further comprising a storage circuit coupled to thefirst node wherein the storage circuit is configured to capture a valueon the first node.
 20. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 19wherein at least two of the plurality of transistors have gatescontrolled responsive to a clock input to the clock gater circuit,wherein the operation of the at least two transistors creates a windowduring a first phase of the input clock during which the enable inputcan affect the value on the first node, and wherein the storage circuitis configured to retain the value for a remainder of the first phaseoutside of the window.